Scott Piatkowski

Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to address both encampments and permanent housing.candidate's own words

I support collaborating with a local non-profit on the development of new affordable housing at 250 Lincoln Road (ideally three story townhomes), which was the condition when the property was purchased using funds from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund and the city's Affordable Housing Reserve.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on housing?candidate's own words

I have more than 30 years of direct experience in managing successful area non-profit housing co-ops and currently work for a national NGO that supports the community housing movement. Having a subject matter expert at the table when these issues are discussed would be a benefit to the city.

• Reallocate space on selected streets (e.g. road diets, transit lanes, protected bike lanes)
• Adjust signal timing, curb use, or intersection design
• Prioritize active transportation improvements during routine resurfacing

1. Invest in rapid transit to anchor growth
2. Use transit to shape land use
3. Prioritize expanding coverage area
4. Prioritize maximizing operational efficiency
5. Prioritize lower-cost or incremental transit improvements

Yes, sidewalks should be cleared alongside roads as part of regular winter maintenance

Yes, for specific groups

If you selected "Yes, for specific groups" above, which groups?candidate's own words

Seniors (ex. extend Older Adult Day Pass pilot), People with disabilities, Youth (age 12 and under)

Please describe one criterion or principle that should not be compromised when making transit investment decisions.candidate's own words

Accessibility.

Other priority not listed abovecandidate's own words

Expanding the availability of Mobility Plus service.

Please name one specific street, corridor, or project where you would prioritize these changes.candidate's own words

As Ward 5 Councillor, I will work to make it safer for residents and visitors to get across the Conestoga Parkway. I want the city to work with the Region of Waterloo to explore the feasibility and cost of a pedestrian and cycling bridge over the highway between Bluevale Street North (at Mayfield Avenue) and the southern edge of Bechtel Park. I’m not an engineer, but I see no reason why such a bridge would not be technically feasible. Kitchener already has two pedestrian/cycling bridge over the Parkway, but Waterloo has none. For those who live west of the highway, a bridge would make it easier and safer to access both Bechtel Park (with its trails, soccer fields and dog park) and Parkview Cemetery. For those living on the other side of the highway, Bluevale Collegiate is all but inaccessible to students and staff who want to get there without using a car.

Describe one concrete policy, incentive, or decision you would prioritize to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Where possible, explain how it balances environmental goals with fiscal responsibility.candidate's own words

Waterloo should look at every development and site plan approval application through the lens of the impact it will have on the demand for water. In practice, that will mean limiting growth until our water issues are resolved (something that I actually advocated in my Waterloo Chronicle column way back in the late 1990s). That includes carefully reviewing major industrial uses; a moratorium should be placed on approving any such uses that would consume an inordinate amount of water, which means no new data centres in the City of Waterloo or the Region of Waterloo.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on sustainability?candidate's own words

The above policies may seem like hard choices, but they should have been made twenty-five years ago instead of after we discovered what every farmer in Wilmot Township already knew -- that the underground water supply is not infinite and has to be managed more responsibly. I believe that politicians of that era knew that as well, but they didn't want to admit it publicly and face criticism for stymieing economic growth.

1. Develop a local food strategy, including research on how land-use change affects the food system
2. Partner with other levels of government to develop local food hubs that reduce costs and barriers for small businesses
3. Promote and support low-barrier spaces for local producers to distribute and sell food
4. Encourage and support local landowners to rent to newcomer farmers

Please describe one concrete policy, program, or decision you would support to strengthen the local food system.candidate's own words

Ensuring that all public events run by the City of Waterloo make provisions for how to get leftover food to those who are hungry.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on food systems?candidate's own words

While the Wilmot land acquisition is a Region of Waterloo issue (spurred and funded by the province), I will advocate that Waterloo's representatives on Regional Council (including the Mayor of Waterloo) withdraw their support for proceeding with the destruction of farmland in favour of an unspecified major industrial use.

1. Limit outward growth unless full lifecycle infrastructure
2. Require detailed cost and risk analysis before approving
3. Prioritize infill and intensification where infrastructure
4. Use development phasing tied to infrastructure capacity

Describe one concrete zoning, planning, or development decision you would support (or oppose) that reflects how you would balance these priorities.candidate's own words

I think we need more housing over commercial spaces, including strip malls. An excellent example is 255 Woolwich Street, which has street level commercial (with parking behind) and residential units above (with entrances at the back). This is in a neighbourhood that is otherwise single family residential or green space.

Please describe one concrete example of a growth or infrastructure decision you would support or oppose using this approach.candidate's own words

A vacant unit tax would provide building owners with an incentive to keep units occupied. There are areas of the city where a significant number of housing units are boarded up, waiting until the owner decides to proceed with redevelopment. There are others where dilapidated buildings slated for demolition are occupied but are a blight on the neighbourhood because of the poor enforcement of property standards.

What can the municipality/region do, if anything, about land which sits vacant for years because it is being used as an investment (land banking)?candidate's own words

I'm very concerned about former gas station sites around the city being left vacant, not only because the land isn't being used, but because that vacancy is driven by wanting to avoid site cleanup. I want Council to request an inventory those sites and a strategy to encourage or possibly compel owners to clean them up and get them shovel ready for new development.

It should be more transparent and accessible

Please describe one concrete example of a trade-off you would support (or oppose) when costs rise faster than revenues.candidate's own words

I would oppose any scheme to privatize services. First, because there is no evidence that it saves money, but also because I am philosophically opposed to private interests profiting off essential public services.

Would you like to provide any additional context for your views on budgets?candidate's own words

The RIM Park debt (an example of poor Council oversight in the past) will finally be paid off in 2031. That will ease some of the fiscal pressure that the City of Waterloo has felt since 2001 (removing $19 million a year in debt payments from the budget) and provide Council with a range of choices, from limiting tax increases, to building reserves, to enhancing services -- or some combination of the three. While the next term of council ends in November 2030, it will fall to this group of Councillors to plan for this sea-change in municipal finances.

If you chose "It should be more transparent and accessible", please describe how.candidate's own words

Posting explainer videos showing how money is raised and how it is spent, as well as which areas the municipality has discretion and which ones they do not.